


Smiling Shadows

by LidWithoutAJar



Category: Disney - All Media Types, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 06:11:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19420084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LidWithoutAJar/pseuds/LidWithoutAJar
Summary: Follows the story of my Original Character, Kurbis Samuel Haine Skellinton, how he grew up ,who he becomes.  How he takes his place as the Scream King of Halloweentown.





	Smiling Shadows

The gentle wind tickling the bare branches of the undead trees looming in the grey skies while tossing around the always thick ruffles of fog low to the cobble stone. The town center quiet, unmoving as the source of the fog shining a bright green and bubbling softly. A fountain, the green liquid flowing from the fanged mouth of a winding snake that stood fairly high above the rest of the fixtures in the town's center. Surrounding buildings standing tall, many crooked or falling to pieces, and all covered in spider webs. No soul in sight as a loud

'THUNK'

Erupted from the ground and the fountain's slender form began to toss and flail about while the sounds of rumbling grew from beneath and finally its mouth grew ten times its' original size and a mass of shadows began to spill out from the opening in all shapes and sizes. All of them shouting, screaming, or yelling with triumphant joy. All the sounds similar to that of a haunted house in full swing during peak Halloween season. The mass of forms began to split off from one another to reveal they were all different monsters, spooks, or iconic Halloween specters. Their voices becoming clear as they stepped farther into the square,

"What a night! Best Halloween yet Jack!"

"You are the master of scares Jack!"

"Noone screams like you Jack!"

"Just like the chip off the old block, Kerbie!"

"He is becoming just as scary as you are Jack!"

"Who better to take the title of Pumpkin King than your own son Jack!"

The words of encouragement and respect flooded all around the tall leering figure of the skeleton donned in a pinstripe suit. His almost luminescent skull high above the others in the crowd as he thanked and acknowledged every comment he could, his bony hands brushing on a shoulder, wing, limb, or claw when he could reach,

"Thank you all! So very much! And I am very proud of my son, Kürbis, he is really coming into his own style of tricks and treats! Here's to next Halloween!" His voice demanding and ringing above the rest his words wrapped up the eventful night sending everyone on their way.

His hollowed eye sockets tilted down now to the male everyone was referring to during the melody of screams. His own deep green eyes met his fathers as he fiddled with a spider web tangled in his brilliant red bangs, a small smile read along his corpse blue lips,

"Another on for the books, huh, Pop?" The young man was never one to emote, not that he did not feel anything, but he never found it necessary to show it on his face. Despite the little to no reaction from his son Jack knew Kerbie was just as thrilled about their performance as he was and he ruffled the male's thick crimson locks knocking the webs from them. Kerbie laughed as they floated to the ground,

"Thanks. Where do you suppose Mom and the rest of the scamps wiggled off to?" As if on cue a gaggle of children with vibrant red hair emerged from the shadows, all heights and weights. His siblings were a mix of ragdolls, skeletons, and a blend of two, and then there was his little brother, Drake who took after their great-great grandfather who had been quite the revered Vampire. His dark hair really stood out from the rest of his siblings at times but they all pulled away various masks and played with their accessories from the night's activities, his mother's voice soft and soothing floated over the pack,

"There are my sweet Spooks. The children are still wired with the spirits of Halloween, I think we need to take a walk through the cemetery to calm everyone down enough for B E D" With a small giggle she spelled out the last word to keep the swarm from starting an uprising. Jack gave his family his famous grin before taking the group of kids and his wife into one large hug all entangled with this long arms. Squeaks and screams rose up as they all protested, including Kerbie,

"Ah! Dad! Some of us still need air!" They were released just before the booming sound of their father's laughter filled the square,

"Alright! Lets take a walk before we head home! Follow me my little horrors." With that the entire Skellington crew set off towards the boundless hills filled with headstones past the cities limits. Kerbie fell back behind the crew keeping his own pace as his own thoughts held his attention, truth be told he needed the walk as much as the others did to settle himself down. At the rate his mind was racing, he would not be able to sleep the next few nights, which he desperately needed since his fall semester would be starting soon. Halloween marked the unofficial end of their summer break, he hadn’t even bothered to check to see what books he needed to get for his courses yet. He set those worries aside while he went through all the ideas for next year's Halloween that flooded through his mind not watching his family's movements as they slipped through the stones and statues. He kept his hands buried in his suit's pockets, his mother made him a special Spook Suit she liked to call it, it resembled his father's but she said it was more like a jolly man's they once encountered. It was a deep red that had faded to a grayed out version with once white accented cuffs, lapels, and buttons. Now the white was worn to a dirty light black, the jacket had tails like his father's but the collar stood up around his head almost hiding his face from view. And the ensemble was finished with a dark bone belt, the clasps resembled, or could actually be skinned hands. He loved it, red was his favorite color and he felt menacing in the suit which helped during the ceremony of Spectrals.

He tapped his chin lightly as he tried to filter through the thoughts in front of him unaware he had past the curled hill and crossed over the bridge past the west gates of the cemetery and now slowly crossed into a wooded area beyond. It was said Oogie Boogie once lived past the woods in a crater in the ground, but even as a small child who dared to look, Kerbie never caught a glimpse of the stacked hideout of the villain. His father told them stories of a young hero who had freed them of the villain and destroyed the hideout leaving a single door that refused to open. But the older spooks said that after the wave of Halloween passed through the fog you can see the hideout reappear but just for the night.

The redhead stepped out of the woods stopping at the edge of the crator to keep from falling and brought back to his senses. Glancing around at his surroundings, the fog thick he was alone and deep below he could see the stone door,

"Knew it was fake." A disappointed sigh left his lips as his body took him down the path that led to bottom of the crater, thats when he heard it, a slow deep chuckle. His eyes snapped up but all around him was the thick fog and no matter where he turned all he saw was the thick cloud. The chuckle turned into laughter, then it abruptly stopped,

_**'Did you miss me Kerbie?'**_ The voice was almost a whisper but seemed to rumble deep within him, 

"Who is there?" The male scoffed beneath his breath, "Whoever you are you shouldn't try to scary the Prince of Screams. I was born to scare, not the other way around." His own voice unwaveing as he stood his ground in the fog. He didn't receive an answer right away so the Prince began to move through the fog looking for any figures within it, still silence as a deep wind came through bellowing as it pushed all the fog up and away. 

Revealing to the young ragdoll that he was truly alone with the mysterious Oogie Boogie stone,

_**'You are the only one here, why are you talking to yourself?'**_ The voice this time seemed to be right next to him so he whipped around to see an empty field each way, he was the only one there, so where was the voice coming from?! His eyes narrowing now, it had to be some kind of invisibility magic,

"I have always loved Hide and seek. I always won." His hand slipping into his pocket to search for his charms,

_**'Theres no use finding a charm for me Kerb. I am sad you've forgotten me, we had such fun as kids. But I guess I can't blame you. After that day its been kind of hard to reach you.'**_ Kerbie let go of the charms in his pockets and put up his stitched hands,

"Okay, no magic. Show yourself then."

_**'Wish I could Pal, but I can't.'**_

"Why not?"

_**'Wow, you really don't know. Okay Pal, walk over to the stream.'**_ Cautiously the Prince made his way over to the creek just past the stone remenants. Green like the fountain's water he looked down to see his eeiry reflection below,

"Okay, I am here, now will you show yourself?" Silence, he let out a curt laugh then rolled his eyes. He let his curiousity get the best of him, with a deep breath in he turned promptly away but before he could take a step his whole body froze. A sudden chill?

_**'Look down at the water stupid.'**_ With no self control the male flipped back around to stare into the water, but his reflection was not quite right. It was his features, but his red hair kept flickering between shadow black and blood red, and his blue skintone kept jumping to bone white,

"What spell is this?'

_**'I can't use magic without you Pal.'**_ Kerbie felt his eyes grow large and the breath caught in his throat as he watched the reflection talk to him, his hand reaching up to touch his mouth,

"Why do you need me?" The redhead watched the reflection flickering as he kept hold of his own face, he waited for the voice to answer him, but he already knew the answer,

_**'Cuz I am you, Fool.'**_


End file.
